Action of the Week: Share your story. Find and use your voice.

In a previous post, I talked about how we need to find and use the power have in our lives. We all have power and influence, whether it’s in our family, among our friends or in our community. (Gloria Feldt just wrote an article on Forbes that talks about “valuing your piece in the puzzle“).

A crucial step in using our power is sharing our story, and using our voice to educate, move and inspire others. We all have life experiences that other people can empathize and identify with, and often it just requires one person stepping up and sharing their story to encourage others to share their stories and do something about an issue affecting them.

Finding your voice is one of the hardest and most intimidating processes one can go through as a young woman and adult. I have a constant fear that what I have to say is not interesting enough or relevant enough to others’ lives. But the important reason why we must share our story and use our voice is that our story is the foundation for change. Why do you believe in what you believe in? Why are you fighting for this issue? Your story lies at the heart of those questions.

I have found that the simplest way to finding your voice is to practice using it as much as possible. If you’re terrified of speaking in public, sharing your story online is the best way to start off. For example, you can volunteer to be featured on our blog. Or you can write a guest blog post for websites that interest you (I’ve submitted posts to feminist websites such as Gender Across Borders, The F Bomb and Rookie).

Your stories won’t always be featured, and you may not always find people receptive to what you have to say. But I can guarantee you that the more you put yourself out there, the more you will feel comfortable using your voice.